PiratesAhoy!

Naval forces from several countries were searching Tuesday for a British couple and their missing yacht, which may have been hijacked by pirates off the coast of Africa, military sources told CNN. European Union anti-piracy forces may have spotted the missing vessel Tuesday, a spokesman told CNN.

"One of our helicopters spotted a yacht approximately 200 nautical miles from the Somali coast, towing two skiffs of the type normally used by pirates," Lt. Cmdr. Daniel Auwermann told CNN.

The yacht has not been identified, and the EU helicopter could not make contact with it, he said.

Paul and Rachel Chandler set off from the Seychelles for Tanzania on October 21, according to their blog. They have not been heard from since, but a distress beacon was activated October 23,according to naval officials.

Flying Lab Software is offering members of the United States military the chance to play its critically acclaimed massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Pirates of the Burning Seaâ„¢ (burningsea.com) for six months at no cost, as well as some exclusive in-game items. This special promotion for members of all branches of the military waives the usual $19.99 purchase cost, and grants six months of play time without the usual $14.99 monthly fee.

â€œThe idea to do what weâ€™re calling the Care Package initially came about as a result of some posts in our Pirates of the Burning Sea community forums,â€ said Russell Williams, CEO of Flying Lab Software. â€œOne of our players posted about serving in Afghanistan, and it got us thinking about the challenges of trying to play an MMO while in an unpredictable situation like active service. We feel a special gratitude towards the members of the armed forces who take the time to get involved and play our game, in the...

I ran across this site this morning - it provides a visual reference for those wondering where exactly all the pirate attacks are taking place, and also lists suspected attacks as well as reports of suspicious vessels.

The site also hosts information for the years back to and including 2005, allowing users to see changes in locales and the frequency of incidents around the globe, thanks to maps from Google.

"When Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook was fired, Johnny Depp revealed to LA Times that his excitement for "Pirates of the Caribbean 4" has disappeared since Cook was the reason why he signed on for the franchise to begin with.

Even though Depp may be considering abandoning the fourth film, his only way out of the contract is to claim that the script is terrible. He will likely not do that and will hold up his part of the deal. However, don't expect Depp to be in the fifth and sixth installments.

According to a CinemaBlend source, Disney is already prepping to replace Depp in the last two parts of the new trilogy. The studio is not looking to hire a new actor to play Captain Jack Sparrow; the goal is to completely replace him with an entirely new character.

So the big question is: Will you watch a "Pirates of the Caribbean" film without Johnny Depp?"

This has nothing to do with pirates, at least I hope it doesn't! Every time I see a story like this, it just boggles my mind that any parent would let a child even attempt something like this. In my opinion, regardless of sailing experience or skills, there is no way a 16 year old is mentally or physically ready for a feat like this.

SYDNEY â€” A 16-year-old Australian steered her bright pink yacht out of Sydney Harbor on Sunday to start her bid to become the youngest person to sail solo and unassisted around the world.

Jessica Watson's plan to make a 23,600-mile (38,000-kilometer) journey through some of the world's most treacherous waters sparked a debate in Australia about whether someone so young should be allowed to try such a potentially dangerous feat.

Watson and her family insist she is an experienced and capable sailor who has studied navigation, electronics and maritime safety procedures. Although she will sail solo and unassisted, she will be in constant...

According to Adventure Gamers, the official website for Autumn Moon's upcoming adventure game Ghost Pirates of Vooju Island goes live today! The website is in German by default, but you can bring up the English version of the page by clicking on the flag in the upper right corner. The web page uses Adobe Flash of course, so if your running Firefox with No Script, you will have to at least allow the page temporarily. Nothing about when the English version will be released, but at least you can find out a bit about the game if your curious. I am still not sure weather this game interests me or not, but hey, it is pirates!!

It's been a while since I posted any news, I have had some real life issues of my own to deal with lately and I haven't been keeping up with things like I should. If any of you are interested in joining the News Gatherers group and giving us a hand, PM me and I will see if I can get you added. I ran across this earlier today and thought I would share it. LEGO has come out with a new pirate ship set 10210 Imperial Flagship! She is bristling with cannon and all kinds of piratey goodness! This thing looks pretty damn cool! It will be available starting 1-1-10. Here is the full announcement from LEGO :

All hands on deck! This amazingly detailed and realistic historical ship has three removable sections. The main hull contains 4 firing cannons, ammunition crates, muskets, torches, cannonballs, a prison with a rat, a fully-equipped...